bthomas

U.S. Markets: Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

The prevailing mindset is to live comfortably. Typically that is significantly above one's means. That is the American consumer economy in a nutshell. Easy credit, cashout refinancing, etc, all fueled the consumer appetite, driving up housing which was the linchpin. The really big money was apparently betting big against the consumer's ability to pay for his comfortable life. We are now honoring those bets with tax dollars. This the second raping of the taxpayer. What necessities are being forgone while trillions go into financial coffers? Education budgets, infrastructure, security, planning, etc. We really don't know how much we've lost as we Keep on rockin' in the free world. I say mostly the "Free" part.
Excellent post. Keep the faith James.

ECRI: Signs of Economic Improvement

Hansen,
I guess that you must work for ECRI, to be posting their subscription information On SA . Maybe prudent marketing on their part? I hope. I Found this on their site as well: "Personal Use Only

The ECRI Services are made available for your personal, non-commercial use only. Redistribution of the ECRI Services is not permitted. You may not use the ECRI Services to sell a product or service, or to increase traffic to your Web site for commercial reasons, such as advertising sales. You may not take content from ECRI’s website and reformat and display them, or mirror the ECRI home page or results pages on your Web site. If you want to make commercial use of the ECRI Services, you must enter into an agreement with ECRI to do so in advance. Please contact us for more information."

The Cost of a Global Empire

James,
I think one point that seems to be missed is that despite the massive spending for military purposes, the equipping of the boots on the ground seems piecemeal at best. Show me the money Pentagon.
Most people expect the best equipment available if ten times the money is spent. I do not find this article propagandist. Though I do believe the best deterrent to war is having (but not necessarily using) overwhelming force. I'm just not sure we are getting what we paid for. The military industrial complex helps the economy by providing well paying jobs. War pigs? P'lease!

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

The bankers must be reined in. We should start with rational regulation where responsible adults can trust the veracity of what comprises AAA rated securities. Those irresponsible parties must be held accountable. Conflict of interest is pervasive on all sides, from government to regulator to business . This seems to escape everyone's attention. It's all public money now folks, the public trust must be upheld. We are ten years hence from repealing Glass Steagall. Everything is in shambles now because greed overrode every other aspect of life. The Fed has too much power. congress should work to rein this in. Glass Steagall, or whatever replaces it, must be enacted to require people to do what greedy people cannot do for themselves: -the right thing. Split them up. Preserve the public trust.

Grand Illusion: The Federal Reserve (Part 3)

This is a very petty critique.


On Mar 10 05:24 PM error fixer wrote:

> correction: I accidentally cut the quote of yours that I was criticizing.
> The first criticism should read like this:
>
> ERROR #1) In part 1, you said, "The Federal Reserve System is owned
> by the largest banks in the United States."

Credit Started This Recession; It Will Also Help End It

Debt is money. Ask a banker. Credit is still overextended. Banks are holding (hoarding) Treasury's rescue (bailout) cash because of fractional reserve requirements. New loans will be made (Albeit fewer) to qualified borrowers then the current stricture in credit will ease, and new money will be made. Let's hope it is soon.

Going Long Printing Presses and Taxes

AIG in the news again at yet another resort hotel. Maybe future conferences should be held at company locations/facilities, unless we are all getting our own personal multi-billion dollar "helicopter drop."